IDOL AUDITIONS: ST. LOUIS STARS......

St. Louis hosted the LAST of the Idol auditions and officially became the 'gateway to the west' as Idol heads to Hollywood this week for the first of three Hollywood Round shows. In all, 46 Golden Tickets were handed out in St. Louis, making the grand total headed to Hollywood after 7 auditions to 300 contestants that will vie for the coveted FINAL TOP 24!  Some of the BEST from St. Louis are as follows.......

• Johnny Keyser, 22 years old, Pompano Beach, FL.......sings a soulful version of a Sam Cooke song and the judges loved him.....he's eye candy for the ladies, and odds are he'll make the TOP 24!
• Rachelle Lamb, 26 years old, Mountain View, MO....another divorced mom chasing a singing career....really?....not like we haven't heard this before...she sings OK but she should have been more worried about her own performance than her daughter who was on stage with her. Don't think she'll make it through Hollywood....
• Reis Kloeckener, 20 years old, St. Louis, MO......bullied as a kid through high school....sings "Lean On Me".....I didn't care for it at all, but he gets a ticket....doubtful that he gets too far in Hollywood.
•  Ethan Jones, 22 years old, Pontoon Beach, FL......played with his dad in a band, but the dad is now going through alcohol and drug rehab....sings with a raspy tone, and sings well....country boy with some soul, so keep an eye on him in Hollywood Week.
• Lauren Gray, 22 years old,  Hardy, AR......family owns a one-stop wedding shop and dad has a southern rock band she sings in.....covers Adele's 'One and Only' and sings it pretty well, but shrieks and screams too....really is all over the place with it...I don't think she gets through Hollywood.

So, with all the auditions behind them, IDOL will have over 300 heading to Hollywood for three rounds of competition and a special 'performance challenge' show as well that will eventually unveil the TOP 24. 
Until the next Idol Show, enjoy one of the most amazing voices to ever come from the IDOL stages in Katherine McPhee (runner-up to Taylor Hicks in Season 5), as she stars in the NBC debut of 'SMASH'....so take a peak ..........can't wait to see it!